The Man of Mode

1. The Man of Mode exhibits more female suspicion of the “hero” than plays previously read in this class. We see this suspicion especially through the character of Bellinda. After witnessing Dorimant’s poor treatment of Mrs. Loveit, Bellinda begins to fear that he will one day treat her the same way. She decides to pursue him anyway, but before becoming deeply involved in an affair with him, she makes him promise not to see Mrs. Loveit except in public, and announces that she refuses to see him for another fortnight. Seeing Dorimant at Loveit’s house shortly thereafter, Bellinda learns the relatively easy way that he is a false lover. Bellinda has averted the catastrophe that befalls such women as Angellica of The Rover. How does this evident suspicion on the part of the female conquests affect our reading of this play (especially as opposed to our reading of plays such as The Rover or The Country Wife in which Willmore and Horner successfully charm and dupe their conquests without triggering the blatant suspicion, uneasiness and even loyalty tests that we see in The Man of Mode)? What is the effect of the difference in gender dynamics between plays? What should we make of the fact that even with this difference, Harriet still remains fairly unsuspicious and marries Dorimant much as Hellena marries Willmore?
2. Early in the play, love/marriage and religion are repeatedly and critically compared. Medley states: “I confess I am but of an untoward constitution, apt to have doubts and scruples; and in love they are no less distracting than in religion. Were I so near marriage, I should cry out by fits as I ride in my coach, ‘Cuckold, cuckold!’ with no less fury than the mad fanatic does ‘Glory!’ in Bethlem” (1.1). Love/marriage and religion are presented as equal sources of anxiety, insecurity, and even madness. What does this interrogation of two such “sacred” institutions say for assumptions about love/marriage and religion? What is Etherege doing by presenting this seemingly sacrilegious comparison? How does the placement of this comparison early in the play set the mood and response of the audience to the following love/marriage plots? Meanwhile, religion is hardly mentioned again in later acts. What is it doing here?